Amy's Boobie Blog ..............MY Cancer Story

CROSSING THE FINISH LINE! Today is the day I have been looking forward to, my last breast cancer treatment.  It's been a special day and I have been soaking up the attention.  Everyone around me has been smiling, congratulating, and cheering me on.  My co-workers had a surprise pitch-in and left balloons in my office.  Someone even made my favorite cake, German chocolate! Yummmm I left work ten minutes early for my appointment because I couldn't concentrate anymore and while I was sitting in my car outside the doctor's office Jeff pulled up on the motorcycle.  He even brought my helmet so we could go for a ride together afterwards. When we walked into the Oncology center the lady at the front desk smiled real big before I was even close to the desk and said "Last One!"  I asked her how she knew and she said it was highlighted on the computer.  Isn't that nice!  I would like to shake the hand of the person who thought to add that to the scheduling

ZEROING IN ON THE TUMOR BED Yesterday was my last all-over radiation treatment and today they started to zoom in on just the tumor bed.  Rather than covering my whole breast, underarm, and part of my chest, it just covers a baseball size circle around the area where the cancer was removed. Before the machine fired from above me on the right, down across my breast and out my underarm, and then moved to below me on the left, up through my underarm and breast.  I found a graphic that shows exactly what the all over treatment looked like.  This picture is even for the left breast, just like me. Today it was aimed just inches away from my breast and fired straight down on it.  This made me nervous because I remember the doctor saying that they try to aim away from the lungs.  I guess that is what they did the first 26 times, but there is no way they are missing it now! The buzz from the machine lasted about 45 seconds (it seemed) and again I imagined the radiation penetrating my

OLD AMY, MEET NEW AMY... It's all starting to blur together now.  I don't remember one radiation treatment from the other.  I'm stuck in the movie Groundhog Day! Park in the same spot and walk in quickly (because I'm usually running late) Smile at the clerk who waves me on to the dressing room Put on a smock and hide my keys under my clothes - don't even bother to hang them on the hook Follow the tech to the machine Line my butt up with the top of the pad Take my arm out of my smock and put it above my head Focus on the ceiling pictures while she draws lines on my chest and boob Count to 30 while the machine buzzes, then moves to the other side and count to 30 again Wait for her to come back in, get up and follow her back to the dressing room Put on my shirt and pitch my smock in the laundry Turn off the lights and leave the room (I'm the last patient of the day) The whole process takes just 10 minutes and I've done it 25 times so far.  J